The Lethal Stench of Japanese Powerby Leilla Matsuiwww.dissidentvoice.org
April 26, 2004

In Japan, "oyaji
kusai" describes the peculiarly unpleasant odor that emanates from "oyaji";
the pejorative term for elderly men, especially those who favor a
particularly pungent pomade to arrange their thinning hair into "bar code"
stripes across their scalps. To get the real essence of "oyaji kusai", just
imagine a suit, un-drycleaned for several decades, and doused with bug
repellant to cover a feint, yet lingering, latrine odor. Cosmetic companies
have even devoted a significant portion of their research and development
budgets towards inventing the deodorant equivalent of "Smells like Oyaji
Spirit". If their progress could be measured by my mercifully brief ride on
an 'oyaji' packed rush hour subway yesterday, then success has so far eluded
all pharmaceutical efforts to wipe 'oyaji kusai' off the olfactory map.

In broader terms, "oyaji kusai" can also describe the English language
equivalent of "fuddy-duddy"; something staid, dated and hopelessly stale. A
friend recently described her new paramour's style as "oyaji kusai" which
tells me in two words that he reads the sports tabloids and frequents the
kind of places where simperingly cynical hostesses ply him with "mizu wari"
(diluted whisky) while inwardly reminding themselves to change the air
freshener.

In
light of recent political developments here, “oyaji kusai” has a
particular resonance since it also describes the stench coming from
Kasumigaseki, the general vicinity of the Prime Minister's official
residence. Ironically, it was Koizumi's perceived lack of “oyaji kusai” that
endeared him to voters in the first place and got him elected by his party
elders of the ruling and anything but “Liberal Democratic Party.” With his
tousled, leonine coif (the oyaji equivalent of Jennifer Aniston's second
most famous asset) and an alleged fondness for the gothic power ballads of
“X” Japan (a popular dress up band from the '80's), Koizumi's much heralded
victory gave rise to the assumption that he was the fresh air antidote to
the old boy stench malingering over Japan's post-war political landscape.

Koizumi's image as a maverick reformer taking on the crony bureaucrats of
the LDP old guard has been enthusiastically embraced and indeed embellished
by the Japanese media. To their delight, they had signed on a rock star to
sex up the political and financial pages. His intentionally vague mantra of
“structural reform” struck a power chord with pundits who were quick to jump
on to the groupie bandwagon. The fact that Koizumi's economic stimulus
proposals were on direct orders from his immediate superiors in Washington
have done little to diminish his popularity. On the contrary, Japan's
parasitic alliance with the U.S. is grudgingly accepted as an unfortunate
but inevitable price to pay for its eventual emancipation from the
constitutional constraints which prevent it from becoming the region's
nuclear superpower.

In
a country where appearances count for everything and stagnation is a virtue,
it's enough for Koizumi to strike the pose of the swashbuckling alternative
to the “corruption as usual” pork barrelers within his own party. Never mind
that beneath it all he's dabbling in the dark arts of re-establishing a
military state apparatus modeled after Japan's pre-war Imperial one. His
decision to send Self Defense Forces to Iraq in spite of Japan's
war-renouncing constitution (which expressly forbids Japan's participation
in overseas conflicts) is hardly surprising considering his long record of
flouting the law when it fails to serve his interests in pursuing an
ultra-nationalist agenda.

To his supporters,
Koizumi's frequent and “unofficial” visits to the controversial Yasukuni
shrine is just evidence of his unpredictable, rogue stance on issues ranging
from his choice of hair salons to North Korea. China and Korea, who suffered
under Japan's vicious colonial rule, have criticized the Prime Minister for
his insensitivity to Japan's wartime atrocities by paying tribute to the
class “A” war criminals enshrined there as “gods”.

Disregarding a recent
supreme court ruling which has deemed his Yasukuni visits unconstitutional
and in violation of the principles which separate religion from politics,
Koizumi has gone on record to say he will ignore the judge's ruling and
continue paying his respects to the war dead at the ultra-nationalist
shrine.

Thanks in part to
Tokyo's demagogue Governor, Shintaro Ishihara, (who is presently enshrined
in Tokyo's Metropolitan Government building and revered by “oyaji” across
the nation) anti-Asian sentiment here runs high. The hawkish Ishihara has
popular support for his loose cannon tirades against “immoral” Chinese, whom
he has publicly referred to with an offensive slang word revived from the
pre-war era.

When rightwing
terrorists detonated a bomb outside the residence of Deputy Foreign Minister
Hitoshi Tanaka, Ishihara condoned what amounted to a terrorist act since the
targeted official had favored a quiet diplomatic solution to secure the
return of the Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean agents more than
two decades ago. The governor favored a more deadly form of diplomacy; one
which Japan's one time pacifist citizenry shockingly and overwhelmingly
support.

For outraged Japanese
citizens too timid to assault Korean schoolgirls and slash their distinct
“chima chogori” uniforms that identify them as belonging to a pro-Pyongyang
high school (there were four such incidences in the past two weeks alone),
there is always a quieter, more socially acceptable way to harass poorer
Asians in your own neighborhood. The government has set up a special website
where concerned residents can report “suspicious foreigners” to the local
police; a move which local advocate groups and Amnesty International have
condemned as a human rights violation.

Flush with their
recent success of turning the tide of Japanese public sentiment towards
removing the war-renouncing Article 9 of the American written post-war
constitution, rightwing law makers have fixed their sights on the nation's
school rooms. By forcing students and teachers alike to hoist the flag and
sing “Kimigayo” (the Emperor worshipping national anthem once thought to be
an unfortunate relic of Japan's embarrassing Imperial past) during official
school ceremonies, Koizumi and his ilk hope to instill patriotism into the
still forming heads of future hawks. Failure to comply with these strictly
enforced regulations now result in “offenders’ being officially reprimanded.
With one foot already in the grave, “ultra-nationalist” politicians are
racing against the clock to secure their malodorous legacy into the next
generation.

Identity politics play
well in a nation adrift in the rising swell of American influence which has
resulted in a skewed and contradictory sense of “self” based on how one is
perceived by “outsiders”. Resentment builds in the burden of seeking
approval from an invisible yet ever present “other”, without whom, one does
not really exist. In other words, you can't really be “Japanese” unless a
Westerner is present to assign you that role accordingly. Should anyone be
surprised then if the Japanese define their “uniqueness” based on a
nostalgic yearning for a common ancestral link to the powers embedded in the
state? The absolute moral certainty wielded by stern authoritarian figures
like Koizumi or Ishihara have a soothing tonic effect on those unable to
forge an identity beyond what is reflected in a reversed mirror.

This may explain why
the public stood behind Koizumi when he condemned the three Japanese
hostages whose were recently released by their captors in Iraq.
Understandably, the international community was taken aback by the virulent,
ad hominem attacks on this courageous and well-intentioned trio by
their fellow countrymen for no other reason than inconveniencing the Prime
Minister during their ordeal.

In light of Japan's
gradual and deliberate dismantling of the checks and balances embodied in
the constitution it's become easier to see how dissent can effectively be
diverted to serve the interests of the state. Considering that the Japanese
were overwhelmingly against the U.S. led invasion of Iraq and Koizumi's
decision to join the Anglo-invaders in the first place, just proves how
lethal “oyaji kusai” can be when it's concentrated and bottled as power.

Leilla Matsui
is a freelance writer living in Tokyo, Japan. She can be reached at:
catcat@s3.ocv.ne.jp.